In the comic book pantheon you find creators — and La Jolla’s Jim Lee, ace re-creator.

As an artist, he reinvented the X-Men and redesigned Superman and Batman. Now, as co-publisher of DC, he’s leading a reboot of 52 superhero series, revising these tales for a new audience.

Prepping for his 25th consecutive Comic-Con, Lee, 46, talked about idols, Bizarro World and his bond with shunned superkids.

On his first Con, 1987: “A much smaller affair … just comic book creators and comic book fans and dealers with comic books in the traditional white long boxes. If there was a girl was in the audience, it would be like this big ‘Oh, my gosh, what’s going on?’ It was pretty different.”

On meeting Kirby in ’87: “I kind of worked up the courage to go up and congratulate him and tell him how much I loved his work. And … when you meet your idols, you don’t know whether they are going to give you the time of day or not. Some people are very warm and receptive. He instantly put me at ease.”

On meeting his own fans: “It’s almost like you are entering Bizarro World. … Comics is a fairly insular, small industry. On a day-to-day basis, walking around town, doing whatever, there’s no big deal. But when you walk into this convention hall, now all of a sudden you are somebody and people know who you are and they treat your differently. … (I) almost have to mentally switch gears and convince myself I am the person they think I am and play that role.”

His must-see event at this Con: “This year, the panel I’m going to go to is ‘Game of Thrones’ (Thursday, 3 to 4 p.m., Ballroom 20)… George R.R. Martin, the author of the books, is going to moderate the panel with some of the people from the show and some of the actors. … It’ll be interesting to hear and see that kind of interplay between the people interpreting the work and the creator of that work.”

Someday: “I’d like to experience the Con by reading about it on the Internet, while I’m sitting on a beach somewhere. I think you’d want to go back on a fan level, to re-approach it on a fan level rather than on a work level. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it — I completely enjoy it. There’s just that extra level of responsibility.”